Europe

Study in Europe

Germany

Around 70% of Germany’s population speaks English, and there are many programs available to study in English, particularly at postgraduate level. If you want to study at undergraduate level, English-taught courses are harder to find.

There are no tuition fees for undergraduate degrees at public universities in Germany, with the exception of universities in the state of Baden-Württemberg, where non-EU students now need to pay fees of €3,000 (~US$3,530) per year. Master’s degrees are also free if you have gained your undergraduate degree in Germany, while PhD courses are also often either free or very low-cost. Private universities in Germany will charge tuition fees, but these are often still less than the international average.

The Netherlands

If you want to study in English in the Netherlands, you won’t struggle to communicate with the locals – 90% of Dutch residents are English speakers. There’s also no shortage of English-taught courses – more than 1,700 are available, the majority of which are master’s degrees. The government agency Study in Holland has a Study Finder, which will help you find your perfect English-taught course at any level of study.

Although tuition is not free in the Netherlands, fees are much less than the average for English-speaking countries, particularly if you’re from the EU, as you will pay €2,006 per year for most courses in 2017/18. If you’re not from the EU you will pay at least €8,000 (~US$9,400) per year, depending on your subject.

Austria

Teaching in Austria is mostly conducted in the country’s official language, German, but there are around 230 programs available in English at various study levels – the Studienwahl website has a search tool to help you find a course taught partially or fully in English. This is another country with a high percentage (73%) of English speakers. Higher education is free for Austrian nationals and students from the EU. Students from non-EU countries can expect to pay €726.72 (~US$855) per semester.

Denmark

Although most teaching in universities in Denmark is conducted in Danish, there are more than 700 internationally recognized programs taught in English, and 86% of the country’s residents can speak English. You can find study programs in English via the study in Europe website. Universities in Denmark are free to attend, at all levels, for all EU/EEA/Swiss students. If you are from outside the EU/EEA, you will be required to pay fees, which on average cost €6,000-16,000 per year (US$7,070-18,850).

Greece

Around half of Greece’s citizens can speak English. While teaching at universities is mainly in Greek, specialized study programs are also available in English at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Again, tuition fees are free for domestic and EU students at undergraduate level in public universities, while students from non-EU countries will pay around €1,500 (~US$1,770) per year, often including course textbooks.

Scotland

If you’re an EU national keen to study in the UK but not so keen on the high tuition fees, you may like to consider Scotland, as there are no tuition fees for students from Scotland or elsewhere in the EU (excluding students from the rest of the UK). Although Brexit may affect this, it has been confirmed that EU students starting a degree in Scotland from 2018/19 will be able to study for free for the duration of their course. Scotland is primarily English-speaking, but also has two recognized regional languages, Scottish Gaelic and the Scots language.

Sweden

Another country with a large number of English speakers, over 900 programs are taught in English at Swedish universities. University is free for Swedish citizens and citizens of EU countries. However, non-EU students pay fees. These are set by each university; you can expect to pay somewhere between SEK80,000 and SEK190,000 (around US$9,830-23,350) per year depending on your subject and degree level.

Finland

Finland is another destination worth considering to study abroad in English. Finnish institutions provide over 400 courses in English, and there are no tuition fees for EU students. Non-EU students pay tuition fees of approximately €5,000-20,000 (~US$5,900-23,550) per year.

Again, there are many English language speakers among the nationals of this country (70%). English language courses are more common at universities of applied sciences and polytechnics, and only a small number of English-taught courses at bachelor’s degree level are available at general universities. A database of English courses can be found on the Studyinfo.fi website.

Norway

The only Nordic country continuing to offer free tuition to all students (regardless of nationality), Norway offers a good range of English-taught programs, mainly at master’s level, and the vast majority of residents know English. At the University of Oslo (the country’s highest ranked university in the QS World University Rankings® 2018 at joint 142nd) there are a wide range of English-taught programs at all study levels. You will still need to pay a student welfare organization fee each semester, which is typically no more than NOK600 (~US$75).